Jim Fall: Think you know Thanksgiving? Take this quiz

Tuesday

Nov 24, 2009 at 12:01 AMNov 24, 2009 at 8:45 AM

First off, I must give credit where credit is due, so far as I know. This quiz comes from an e-mail I received from a friend who had received it from a local personality known to her Internet friends as “Town Crier.” That’s all I am allowed to say, except, “Thanks!”

Jim Fall

First off, I must give credit where credit is due, so far as I know. This quiz comes from an e-mail I received from a friend who had received it from a local personality known to her Internet friends as “Town Crier.” That’s all I am allowed to say, except, “Thanks!”

It is a test of turkey knowledge that can make for some fun come Thursday, if you can work it in between the parade, Thanksgiving dinner, football, napping, more football, turkey sandwiches and Alka Seltzer. (Answers come after all the questions.)

When was the first Thanksgiving celebration? 1492, 1567, 1621 or 1777?

Where was the turkey first domesticated? Canada? Mexico and Central America? New Zealand? India?

What is a female turkey called? A rooster? Cuckoo? Chick? Hen?

What is a male turkey called? Clark? Harry? Larry? Tom?

What great American statesman lobbied to make the turkey the national symbol? John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson or Thomas Jefferson?

What sound does a female turkey make? Is it a gobble? A cluck; a chirp? Or a peep?

What sound does the male turkey make? Gobble, click, chirp or peep?

About how many feathers does a mature turkey have? Approximately 1,500, 2,000, 3,500 or 5,000?

Which state produces the most turkeys annually” Is it Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota or Ohio?

How fast can wild turkeys run? Can they go 5, 15, 25 or 45 mph?

How does Arkansas rank among other states in turkey production? Are they first, third, eighth or 14th?

What Indian tribe celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the colonists? Was it the Arapaho tribe? The Choctaw? The Sioux? Or was it the Wampanoag tribe?

Can wild turkeys fly? If so, how fast? (If you answer NO, skip ahead.) If yes, is it up to 25 mph? 45 mph? Or 55 mph?

What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkey’s neck? Is it their snark, is it a wattle, a garble or is it the swag?

Which president specified Thanksgiving fall on the last Thursday of November? Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, William H. Taft or Martin VanBuren?

Which president attempted to move the Thanksgiving holiday to the fourth Thursday in November to create a longer Christmas shopping season? Was that Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald R. Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt or Harry S Truman?

Which country consumes the most turkey per year per capita? Do you think Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom or the United States?

What is the best way to defrost a turkey? With a hair dryer, in the refrigerator, in cold water or in a microwave oven?

Now lets see how much you know about the turkey and Turkey Day. (Some of the answers are not in the sequence presented.)

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 (with members of the Wampanoag tribe).
The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and Central America. Females are hens (which cluck); males are toms (and they gobble). It was Ben Franklin who favored the turkey (with its some 3,500 feathers) — over the eagle.

Sentimentally, I thought Arkansas had the most turkeys, although I was certain the best answer was Kansas. Wrong, it’s Minnesota. (Arkansas ranks No. 3.)

Wild turkeys can run up to 25 mph (counter to how Wild Turkey affects the human male) and can they fly — 55 mph!

Nine out of 10 American families will have turkey Thursday, compared to just 50 percent on Christmas. But nobody eats more turkey than the Israelis.

It was Abe Lincoln who pegged Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November. FDR tried to change it.

The best way to defrost a turkey is not a microwave, nor with a hair dryer. We always dunked that baby in cold water, but conventional wisdom says stuffing it in the fridge — before stuffing it with dressing — is most prudent.

And whatever you do, be sure to remove the wattle before roasting, or deep-frying.
Seriously, have a most meaningful Thanksgiving.

Jim Fall is a columnist for and former publisher of the Maryville Daily Forum.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.